


Behind Your Brokenness

by MotherofVampires



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Love Confessions, Romantic Loki (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 00:55:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19735117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MotherofVampires/pseuds/MotherofVampires
Summary: This is a birthday gift to my best friend, Dayora! She's a lover of Loki and writing a fic with him and Artemis (Asgard/Olympus crossover), so I decided to make a small fluff scene for her. There's not much context but if you enjoy it, thanks for reading!





	Behind Your Brokenness

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dayora](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dayora/gifts).



Summer had once been Artemis’s favorite season, the time of year she most looked forward to. She would often lose track of time laying among the blooming flowers, enraptured in the sweet aromas carried on the wind; now that seemed a fantasy, a time nearly forgotten. 

The rolling Asgardian hills painted a tapestry of color, wildflowers and ancient oak trees as far as the eye could see. This peaceful vision had once set her mind at ease, served as a place of bliss; now it reminded her of what was lost,  _ stolen _ . Her home on Olympus was nothing more than a memory and despite her efforts, Asgard remained unable to replace it.

Frigga had been kind, never treating her as an outsider even if Odin didn’t trust the Olympian. Thor remained accommodating but his skepticism was clear. At times Artemis wished The Keeper had granted her desire and allowed her entrance to the Otherworld, but sometimes she found reason to hope.

“My brother said I might find you here.”

“Loki.” Lavender eyes rose from the field to watch his approach. His name always coaxed her lips into an involuntary grin. “What are you doing here?”

“Searching for you.” He stopped, looking over the serene landscape before gesturing to the space beside her. “Do you mind if I join you?”

Brown locks nestling over her shoulder, Artemis shook her head. “No, of course not. I had trouble sleeping last night so I thought I might find some peace here.”

Of all the darkness in her life, Loki remained the constant shining star. From the moment she set eyes on him, Artemis sensed a kindred spirit, one who not only braved the depths of betrayal and deception, but thrived despite them.

Resting his arms on his raised knees, Loki sat beside her in silence a moment before finally speaking. “Is it the nightmares which trouble you?”

“What?” She gasped, straightening as she faced him. “I’m not sure-”

“You cry out in your sleep.” Reassurance was not a practiced expression of his, but the compassion-laced words conveyed it well enough. “What is it you fear?”

Ripping her stare from him, Artemis swallowed the lump in her throat. She could tell him of Hera’s attempts on her life, or of Apollo and his incestuous lust and violent advances. What would he say if she confessed how her twin disguised himself as her lover before deceiving her into killing her mortal lover, Orion, with her own arrow? Would he label her a victim and call her a coward for running? “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Wouldn’t I?” He studied her, unoffended by her attempt to brush away his concern. “Try me. Perhaps I’ll surprise you.”

She shook her head. Speaking of the horrors inflicted always brought tears, and she couldn’t afford to be vulnerable- not yet. “Why are you here?”

Loki sighed as he moved closer and pointed to the trees on the horizon. “Beyond that ridge is where my father would take us hunting.” The corner of his lips twitched as he recalled the memory. “I never much cared for the hunt, but I did enjoy the many opportunities in which i was able to trick Thor. I could never best him in the sport, but disguising myself as a serpent-” He chuckled, his finger wagging. “I had never heard such a scream. My father thought he had been gored by a wild beast.”

“You sound like you really love him.” Her flat tone made the sarcasm clear. 

“Is there none whom you love?” 

Her jaw tensed as her nostrils flared in disgust. Flashes of her time with Orion surfaced in her mind before lingering on the final image of him: her lover in a pool of his own blood. Stomach churning, her fists clenched as the tears threatened to break loose. “I don’t know what love is. I have never known it.”

A moment of silence passed as the breeze toyed with her hair and carressed her face. Her glistening eyes remained on the field below; perhaps focusing on the beauty of this new world would distract from the pain.

“You’re lying.” His gaze fixed on her. “And you’re quite terrible at it.”

His words burned like acid on her skin, grief evolving to anger. Loki was not able to conceive the depth of the love she had ripped away, who was he to challenge her like this? “I beg your pardon?” Despite her efforts, the words growled from her throat.

“I have watched you since the moment you arrived. I have seen the way you play with the children in the courtyard and tend to the animals in the stables when you think no one is looking.” His gaze fell to the small space between them. “Your kindness, the compassion with which you treat those around you shows that you know love. I admit, I have grown curious, it seems to radiate from you.”

A moment ago Artemis had been prepared to break his nose, but now her shoulders dropped and posture relaxed. She had almost always enjoyed Loki’s company from the first time they spoke, but he had never spoken so openly. “What are you trying to say, Loki?”

A flush of pink filled his cheeks, a smile lightening his face. “I used to think love was deceiving my brother. I found enjoyment in little else, often passing time by dreaming of ways to torment him. Even then, I never understood why he refused to abandon me.” His emerald eyes finally lifted to meet her. She had never noticed the multiple shades of green in his irises, each one a story of the pain he kept locked away; now it was as though she stared into his soul. “Lately I find myself awake at night, not thinking of Thor or Odin, but of you. Wondering what I might do to see a smile on your lips, or what words might earn soft laughter for my ears. I can’t look upon you without feeling lighter, my fears disappearing the moment you say my name.”

His confession left her speechless, her lungs forgetting how to breathe. She had been attracted to Loki, but shoved it off as fleeting desires not built to last; the thought of her affection being reciprocated sent chills down her spine, the hair on her arm standing on edge. “Loki, I-” She blinked rapidly, but the tears escaped as her voice cracked. “I’m broken. You don’t want me, if you’re smart, you’d cast me out. Chaos and destruction follow me no matter where I run.”

His gentle touch, fingers brushing the tears from her cheek before resting on her chin should have shocked her, but rather it settled the ceaseless storm within. “Then I suppose I must accept being called a fool.”

The soft yet confident press of his lips against hers challenged everything she thought she knew. Instead of pulling away, she wanted him closer. There was a safety in his kiss that she had never known, even with Orion; a wordless reassurance that he saw beyond the scars and damaged pieces and wanted her still. She could have stayed in this kiss for eternity and she would wish it longer.

“My brother will come for me.” She whispered, resting her brow against his as their lips reluctantly parted. “He will come with a fury indescribable, and he will kill whoever stands in his way.”

“He is the demon haunting your nightmares.” Loki’s tone hinged on anger, but not at her. His touch moved across her jaw before toying with her hair. “You are safe here, Artemis. Trust that.”

Pulling away, her breath trembled as she held his stare. Apollo was a formidable warrior and his wrath rivaled that of Aries; Loki couldn’t realize the lengths her brother would go to take her. “You don’t understand. He will come with blade drawn and he will not rest until he has me.” The words choked her, stuck in her throat as she recalled the violations forced upon her.

“Artemis, darling.” A hand held each side of her face, Loki ensuring he captured her full attention. “Let your brother come. He will be met with the full force of the Asgardian army, and should he kill his way past them, I will introduce him to the sharpened edge of my blade before ramming it through his heart. I  _ will _ protect you.”

The courage behind his words left no choice but to believe, to trust the God of Mischief. For the first time, she wanted to stay; she wanted to fight. Perhaps Loki was the missing piece; the one who could fill the cracks of her soul and make her whole once more. Maybe Apollo hadn’t taken her ability to love afterall. Maybe... 


End file.
